Table of Contents

Census of Population and Housing, 1960 [United States] Series

In addition to the historic Census files, 1790-1950,
ICPSR archives and distributes Census data acquired from the United States
Census Bureau as well as files prepared by ICPSR and other principal
investigators for the decennial years 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000.
These include major sets such as the Summary Tape/Count Files, Master
Enumeration District List (MEDList) files, and Public Use Microdata Samples
(PUMS), as well as various subsets. ICPSR's holdings of 1960 Census data
include Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) 1-in-100 and 1-in-1000 samples
and Census tract-level data. Starting in 1960, the Census Bureau created
the Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) as part of each decennial
enumeration. The PUMS contain individual- and household-level information
from the long-form questionnaires distributed to a sample of the population
enumerated in the Census. The Public Use Microdata Samples make it
possible for researchers to create tabulations tailored to their
particular questions and to make time-series comparisons. Because of
confidentiality reasons, the 1960 samples, as well as the 1970 samples,
do not identify any places smaller than 250,000 inhabitants. The Census
tract-level data provide aggregate data summarized at the level of the
Census tract. Census tracts are statistical subdivisions, most of which
are within Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs). Tracts were
originally designed to be relatively homogenous with respect to
population characteristics, economic status, and living
conditions.